Tag Archives: party

Muff Jelicka’s “What I Did That Summer”

whatididlastsummerSometimes Muff Jelicka wakes up after an alcohol-infused evening with only a vague recollection of the night before. We worry about her, though most of the time she holds her liquor quite well.

Fortunately for us, she remembers most of the month she spent in Europe between her sophomore and junior years in college–specifically the July in the south of France, where she not only sampled several varieties of cute men, but imbibed more than her fair share of cocktails. Our recollections of food and drink are often accompanied by waves of nostalgia about a particular event with friends or loved ones and that’s what this cocktail means to Jelicka. It evokes a time well-worth remembering.

And so it is she tracked down this version of a gin sour, tweaked with blackberry liqueur (Crème de mure). Some call it a Bramble. Jelicka calls it, “What I did that summer,” and we all know what she’s talking about.

Ingredients:

1 ½ oz. Gin

¾ oz. Fresh lemon juice

½ oz. Simple syrup (1:1)

¾ oz. Crème de mure

Garnish with a Lemon wheel topped by a fresh blackberry, pierced

Fill a “rocks” glass with crushed ice and add the first three ingredients: stir to combine. Add more curshed ice if needed and carefully drizzle the crème de mure on top. Garnish.

Note: If you can’t find Creme de mure, you can substitute crème de cassis (though it tastes different as cassis is made with currants) or some other berry liqueur. Jelicka won’t mind.

Patty’s Perfectly Packing-Heat Party Punch

cocktail punch-1-1Muff wannabe Patty likes to throw parties but can’t afford an on-staff mixologist. She puts out the wine bottles, the tub of bottled beer and soda and lets the guests fend for themselves. But she likes to offer a hard liquor option to those still celebrating the end of Prohibition, which frankly, is all of us. Here’s her Southwestern style party punch, one-bowl wonder for a crowd. She makes gallons of the stuff, taking healthy samplings every so often as she mixes, and stores it in the fridge for later replenishment of her closed-top punch dispenser.

It’s any party host’s liquid liberator and inhibition annihilator.

Ingredients:

First make your oleo-saccharum (no, not a back problem; OS is the way good bartenders get the most out of citrus). You’ll need:

Peel of 1 whole pomelo

Peel of half a grapefruit

2 oz. Palm sugar

2 oz. Panela (aka jiggery)

In a punch bowl, muddle the peels and sugars together to draw the oils from the peels and let sit for an hour. Then add:

8 oz. Stool blanco

8 oz. Palo Cortado sherry

4 oz. Reposado tequila

4 oz. Mandarine Napoleon liqueur

12 oz. Sparkling wine, chilled

The chilled juice of 3 pomelos and 1 lemon

4 cups of cold water

1 cup of ice

Before serving remove peels (unless you like the way they look). You could also garnish with fresh fruit slice. Note: Some of the ingredients can be hard to find but Patty fools around with various similar fruits and liquors and the stuff will still have your guests toasting your mixology skills.

 

 

Penny Peyser’s Peppermint Party Potion

Peppermint Partini
Penny Peyser is known for her acting chops, her filmmaking (“Trying to Get Good” & “Stillpoint”) and her party-giving!
At a recent festive Holiday gathering, Penny served a delicious cocktail of her own concoction and this Muff was lucky enough to have one…er, three.
Penny Peyser’s Peppermint Party Potion
Mix together:
2 parts whipped cream flavored vodka
   (check at BevMo or well-stocked liquor stores)
1 part clear creme de cacao
1/2 part peppermint schnapps
Half & Half to taste – start with 1/4 part and go from there.
Adjust all to suit your palette and be especially mindful of the peppermint!
The P5 can be made and stored ahead of time in a pitcher in the fridge.
To serve: Crush 1/2 teaspoon peppermint candy cane in the bottom of a  martini glass, pour in the party potion and hang a candy cane on the edge of the glass.